From: joedees@bellsouth.net
Date: Mon 09 Jun 2003 - 03:46:26 GMT
From: "Scott Chase" <ecphoric@hotmail.com>
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Subject: Re: _Religion Explained_ by Pascal Boyer
Date sent: Sun, 08 Jun 2003 23:18:05 -0400
Send reply to: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>
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>
> >From: Keith Henson <hkhenson@rogers.com>
> >Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> >To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> >Subject: Re: _Religion Explained_ by Pascal Boyer
> >Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2003 20:06:49 -0400
> >
> >At 01:57 PM 06/06/03 -0700, Dace wrote:
> >
> >> > From: Keith Henson <hkhenson@rogers.com>
> >
> >snip
> >
> >> > Which would you say applies to a person who has internalized the
> >>baseball
> >> > meme and knows how to play it?
> >>
> >>If you grow up in the USA, baseball is a meme. If you grow up in a
> >>foreign country, it's an idea.
> >
> >People have enough trouble trying to grasp the meme about memes.
> >Making meme or not meme dependant on who hold them and how is just
> >over the top.
> >
> >snip
> >
> >> > I can't deal with morphic fields, Scientology's space aliens, or
> >> > supernatural spirits. Sorry.
> >>
> >>No need to be sorry, you're just a bit confused here. "Morphic
> >>field" is shorthand for "morphogenetic field," a standard
> >>explanatory tool in developmental biology. The field concept is
> >>utilized to explain why one clump of cells becomes, say, an arm,
> >>while another clump of cells develops into a kidney, despite the
> >>fact that all the cells have identical DNA. It's generally believed
> >>that morphogenetic fields will ultimately be explained according to
> >>genes, but don't hold your breath. Many developmental biologists
> >>have given up this quest as a lost cause and are now fully committed
> >>to mathematical explanations of fields. (Morphogenetic fields can
> >>be described with the same mathematical precision as electromagnetic
> >>or grativational fields). The problem with this approach is that it
> >>seems to imply that organisms are governed by eternal equations. Of
> >>course, equations do not evolve. Thus Sheldrake proposed that
> >>fields are the product, not of genes or of equations, but of past,
> >>similar organisms. As organisms adapt, fields evolve. Ironically,
> >>Sheldrake's view is the most easily testable and therefore the most
> >>scientific of the three alternatives. (No one has ever devised a way
> >>of testing the hypothesis that organic form arises from DNA. It's
> >>simply assumed by those who believe it.)
> >
> >This is off topic, but may I suggest you do a little research on this
> > subject. Here are a few pointers:
> >
> >Embryonic Development: Putting on the finishing touches
> >... Most selector genes, including Antp and Ubx, are homeobox genes.
> >... The approximately 60 amino acids encoded by the homeobox are
> >called a homeodomain. ... users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/
> >BiologyPages/H/HomeoboxGenes.html - 12k - Cached - Similar pages
> >Homeobox - Wikipedia Homeobox. ... A homeobox is a certain DNA
> >sequence that is part of many genes involved in the regulation of the
> >development (morphogenesis) of animals. ...
> >www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeobox - 13k - Cached - Similar pages
> >Interactive Fly, Drosophila ... muscle segment homeobox: Biological
> >Overview | Evolutionary Homologs | Regulation | Developmental Biology
> >| Effects of mutation | References ...
> >flybase.bio.indiana.edu/allied-data/lk/
> >interactive-fly/gene/musclesh.htm - 16k - Cached - Similar pages UNSW
> >Embryo- Molecular Development- Homeobox UNSW Embryology. Molecular
> >Development- Homeobox. Embryology Home Page. Page. ... LocusID.
> >Symbol. Description. Position. Links. 257. ALX3. aristaless-like
> >homeobox 3. ... anatomy.med.unsw.edu.au/cbl/embryo/
> >MolDev/factor/hox.htm - 71k - Cached - Similar pages - Hox (Homeobox)
> >Genes — Evolution's Saviour? - Hox (Homeobox) Genes Evolution’s
> >Saviour? ... ome evolutionists hailed homeobox or hox genes as the
> >saviour of evolution soon after they were discovered. ...
> >www.trueorigin.org/homeobox.asp - 11k - Cached - Similar pages
> >
> >It is generally considered that the original pole of the egg is
> >determined by an external factor. Morphogenesis is now thought to
> >rely on chemical gradients, which sequentially (head to tail, front
> >to back) activated hox regulator genes.
> >
> >
> Please don't make the asociation between the developmental biological
> concept of the morphogenetic field and Sheldrake's morphic mumbo
> jumbo. Sheldrake hijacked the concept from developmental biology and
> hyperextended it to cover more than what it was intended,
> conceptualizing the four dimensional (ie- spatiotemporal) aspects of
> form generation (morphogenesis). Sheldrake has created way too much
> confusion on this topic with his psi phenomenal abuse of the term
> "morphic field" that the knee jerk reaction to someone talking about
> morphogenetic fields is that they believe in psychic pets (ie- clever
> Hansian hamsters that know when their owners have just pulled up in
> the driveway and are about to open the front door and get the box of
> hamster treats out of the pantry).
>
Yeah; he calls his crap 'morphic resonance'.
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This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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